


Vanilla

by SilverAmoebasquid



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Date, Ice Cream, M/M, wheee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverAmoebasquid/pseuds/SilverAmoebasquid
Summary: On their first date, Yuuji and Kenjirou find themselves at a local ice cream shop and Kenjirou spends too much energy trying to analyze the new relationship he's entered into.





	Vanilla

“Do you know what you want?”

“I always know what I want,” Kenjirou snapped, glaring at the menu screen behind the counter with fury. “Be patient.” It was ice cream. Ordering should not have been such a hard task. Kenjirou needed the overhead light to stop flickering in his peripheral vision. He needed the young man behind the counter to go back to whatever he’d been doing and stop looking so bored. But most of all, Kenjirou needed Yuuji to step back a few centimeters and stop talking, stop  _ existing _ , for just five seconds so he could make a decision over something that should not have been this big of a deal.

“Do you not want ice cream?” Yuuji asked, sneaking his way into the forefront of Kenjirou's vision again, his blond hair and bright eyes making the quiet, local ice cream shop look even more faded. “We could always go somewhere else. I just thought ice cream might be appropriate for a first date. It's fun but not too formal. For all anyone else in here knows, we could just be two pals hanging out together, not obviously on a date!”

Kenjirou counted five other people in the small shop, not including the cashier, now tapping his fingers on the counter, waiting for them to step up and order. None of them were talking very loudly. Kenjirou could guarantee that all of them now knew it was a date.

“This is fine, Terushima.” They didn’t have much time anyway. After the practice match, the two teams were given some free time to socialize with each other and the two captains had snuck away, but they needed to be back in time for Yuuji to hop on the bus back to Johzenji.

Kenjirou went back to eyeing the menu. His go-to ice cream flavor was always vanilla, but was that too blah? He didn’t want Yuuji thinking of him as a blah kind of person. No, Kenjirou didn’t care what Yuuji thought of him. If they never went out again, that would be fine. Or maybe he should take this opportunity to try something new and exciting while he was on a streak of doing things he’d never done today, item number one being going on a date. What did someone’s ice cream choices say about them to others? Yuuji had loudly announced already that he was getting key-lime flavor and that didn’t surprise Kenjirou at all. Maybe his selection of vanilla wouldn’t surprise Yuuji either. Maybe he had already guessed that Kenjirou was just that, vanilla.

He still needed to solidify his decision. He hadn’t even read over all the choices of flavors yet because—

“Kenjirou, are you okay? You look afraid of the ice cream. Would you rather share something?”

“Don’t call me that. And no, I don’t want to share. I’m getting vanilla.” Kenjirou stomped up to the counter and ordered, Yuuji bouncing along behind him and ordering next.

Almost immediately, Yuuji jumped to sit on the edge of the counter to watch their ice cream be prepared and Kenjirou’s dignity melted a bit. “Get off the counter!” He snapped his fingers and pointed at the floor.

Yuuji burst out laughing, sliding off the counter and dancing around Kenjirou. “Am I a dog? You can’t just snap in my general direction and expect me to follow orders!”

Kenjirou crossed his arms. “You can’t just sit on random counters where people place their food. That’s disgusting. What was I supposed to do?”

“You could always try coaxing me off counters by being gentle and loving,” Yuuji cooed, reaching for Kenjirou’s shoulder to demonstrate.

Immediately pulling away, Kenjirou decided he’d had enough. He didn’t ask to come here to be ridiculed or touched or to be announced to the whole shop that he was Yuuji’s date. He was going back to Shiratorizawa to enjoy the rest of his evening as he should’ve. He was going. Going...

“Don’t touch me,” Kenjirou stated, still standing firmly in place next to the counter.

“Oh.” Yuuji took a half step back. “Sorry, I didn’t realize that’s not a thing that we do. Okay. I got it. No touching the Kenjirou — Oh! Ice cream is ready! I’ll grab it if you go find the spoons and stuff? Can you grab a couple napkins too? I... usually need them.”

Kenjirou quickly nodded his agreement and abandoned the front counter for the little station holding all necessary ice cream equipment like napkins and spoons. His mind was caught in what Yuuji had said. Was touching a thing they didn’t do? Kenjirou didn’t allow much of anyone to lay their hands on him for any reason aside from high fives on the court when they were warranted. He surely didn’t want Yuuji’s hands anywhere near him. It wasn’t as if Kenjirou had never thought about having a boyfriend, but in those brief daydreams, he was always with someone respectful who kept their hands to themselves. He knew what he wanted. So was Yuuji not the right match for him? Should he keep up his subtle search elsewhere? This felt okay so far, despite being the opposite of what he had in mind.

Picking up a small stack of napkins and wondering how much of a mess Yuuji could possibly be capable of, Kenjirou turned to spot the blond seated at a high table, swinging his legs beneath the chair and smiling faintly at the table where both their dishes of ice cream sat. Kenjirou took a step forward, then shook his head and turned back around, remembering to grab spoons. Those were important. Still, his mind was stuck. If he knew what he wanted — and he always knew what he wanted — then why didn’t he fully dislike Yuuji’s hand on his shoulder for the instant it was there.

Finally making his way to the table, Kenjirou mounted the tall chair, handing Yuuji the napkins and a spoon, receiving a winning smile in return.

Yuuji dug into his ice cream immediately, still smiling. “Thanks for coming here with me, Kenjirou.”

“Yeah.” Kenjirou stirred his spoon around his own bowl before taking a bite. The ice cream was good at least.

“Tell me about volleyball! I mean, I know how it’s going more or less because you just kicked our butts, but tell me... things!”

“Um, it’s fine. Lot of work. Rewarding.” Kenjirou jammed more ice cream into his mouth. He never knew how to answer that question. It felt like that was all relatives asked too during family gatherings to make polite conversation. Was that the kind of person Yuuji was? Kenjirou wasn’t so sure about this. He wasn’t fond of polite conversation. When he envisioned a dating partner, he dreamed up someone he could have deep talks with. Yuuji wasn’t the worst in that aspect, Kenjirou knew from their somewhat limited interactions, but he also liked talking about some of the most shallow topics Kenjirou could think of. Like how volleyball was going.

“I’m glad you think it's rewarding!” Yuuji chimed, unaware of the gears turning away in Kenjirou’s head. “I’m really glad our teams get to play against one another. What do you think?”

Was Yuuji the kind of person who couldn’t handle silence? Kenjirou couldn’t handle constant conversation. He was looking for someone probably on the introverted side. And so many questions. Kenjirou wasn’t used to having someone prompt him like this. He’d always imagined himself with someone who wasn’t so intrusive. Kenjirou didn’t want to lay all his opinions out on the table at once. Why did Yuuji even care what he thought about their practice matches?

Kenjirou took a deep breath. This was just casual first date conversation. He could bear with it for now. “I think our teams both have really different playing styles so we could let this be a frustrating waste of time. But if we practice the right way, we could learn a lot from each other.”

Yuuji’s eyes lit up and he leaned one elbow on the table, drawing circles in the air with his spoon, a few drops of key-lime splattering on the table. “That’s a really good way of putting it! I think you’re right! Like we could just keep having practice matches and not doing anything aside from playing the game. Or we could gain some really important skills. What do you think we all need to do to make the most of this opportunity?”

The island chain of ice cream across the table’s surface was bothering Kenjirou and he grabbed one of the napkins to clean it up.

Blushing, Yuuji laughed and stuck his spoon back into his ice cream. “Sorry. This is why I need napkins. I’m going to avoid spilling on myself though because I’m on a date and therefore, best behavior.”

Kenjirou scoffed sarcastically. If best behavior left a line of ice cream droplets across the table in a matter of minutes, he didn’t want to see anything worse than this. Never had Kenjirou thought that he would end up with a slob. Was Yuuji a slob? He didn’t seem dirty, just  _ messy _ . There was a difference between those adjectives. Although, dirty or messy, Kenjirou didn’t think he’d be dating either one. He didn’t want that. He would be super frustrated with someone constantly making messes for him to clean up.

Yuuji leaned across the table. “So what about practice? I know you’ve thought about how to best utilize our practice time together. Care to divulge the secrets?”

The clever, witty retort about sharing secrets with a rival that Kenjirou wanted to spit out got stuck somewhere between his brain and his mouth and he just ended up licking at his spoon. “We’re not very good at receiving from unpredictable teams like yours. We try to do too much predicting instead of acting on instinct. I think we need to unlearn some of that and playing against you guys frequently is a good way to go about that. It’ll take some effort, but we can learn to react to how you guys play instead of trying to figure you out from our side of the court. The opposite goes for you guys. You’re always moving around and don’t commit to any technique until you figure out each individual play, but you could easily use some strategy to curve the tides against us.”

Yuuji smacked a hand on the table. “That’s good! You must be, like, a really really good captain. You’re always thinking of crafty things like this! I remember playing against Shiratorizawa last year and it wasn’t like that at all. Ushijima didn’t scheme like you do. Wow, with brains  _ and _ brawn, your team is all sorts of amazing now! Do you think you’re going to win nationals?”

“Stop flattering me.” Kenjirou blushed, licking at another spoonful of ice cream and avoiding eye contact. He wasn’t going to like Yuuji any more because of a couple simple compliments. It felt like a cheap trick to win him over. Besides, Kenjirou was just doing his job as he was supposed to.

“Is it flattery if it’s all the truth?” Smirking, Yuuji slid a hand across the table, then pulled it back quickly. “Sorry! No touchy!”

At least Yuuji was learning. Kenjirou took another bite of ice cream and watched his date, still sucking saturation out of the air to feed his own fire. So far, Yuuji was the exact opposite of what Kenjirou thought he was in the market for in terms of a boyfriend. And like ice cream, Kenjirou always knew what he wanted. But unlike his ice cream selection, Kenjirou wasn’t so sure he was opposed to this loud, messy, flattering, interested kind of person like he thought he would be. Just because Kenjirou had never made a move to date before, didn’t mean he’d never thought about it. He thought about it a lot, really. The daydreams of someone quiet and deep for him to share his intellectual musings with pleased him as well as the prospect of someone respectful and calm who didn’t ask too much of him. He wanted someone to keep things low-key as opposed to asking him out practically in front of both volleyball teams and then had the audacity to wave to them all before jumping out of the gymnasium into the warm, summer evening with Kenjirou in tow.

This was all wrong, so why didn’t Kenjirou feel like it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Yuuji was his opposite, exciting and talkative. He might as well be key-lime flavor, to contrast with Kenjirou’s vanilla personality.

“Hey, is there a crossword puzzle on my face or something that you’re trying to solve?”

Kenjirou blinked back to reality. “What?”

“Or am I just that hot that you can’t help staring?” Yuuji winked flirtatiously, raising his spoon back to his lips. A bit of ice cream dribbled out of his mouth, but he caught it with another napkin, blushing. “S-sorry, Kenjirou. I promise I’m not usually like this. I’m just kinda nervous to be with you and I’m really really excited to be here and if you felt my heart right now it’s going lightspeed but we’re not doing the touching thing so I’ll just tell you, it’s racing. I’m sorry if this isn’t what you had in mind. I... I hope I haven’t wrecked the opportunity for a second date yet.”

Maybe all the speechless staring had reset Kenjirou’s brain to factory default. He couldn’t think of a single thing to say in response, though he felt he should at least say something to acknowledge the feelings and emotions that Yuuji had just spilled, surprising Kenjirou with how honest he was and how thoughtful he really could be. “Um.”

Yuuji smirked. “Let’s try again. You looked like you were thinking about something. Care to clue me in? You can tell me if I’m doing this all wrong tonight. Honest, I want you to have a good time.”

Kenjirou finished the last of his ice cream, wincing at the slight brain freeze. Looking down, Yuuji had already eaten all of his, though Kenjirou supposed half of it had ended up on the table or on his chin or something. “You’re fine. We should probably head back though. The coaches will be mad if we hold everything up.”

Yuuji slid out of his chair quickly, picking up all of their trash and distributing it in the can by the exit, waving to the dude behind the counter on the way out.

Back under the bright navy of the summer night sky, the skip in Yuuji’s step reappeared. “Were you going to say something? No pressure, but you can tell me what’s on your mind.”

There was nothing to say that Kenjirou didn’t want to mull over in his head alone for a bit before saying out loud. If Yuuji was nothing else like the partner he had in mind for himself, maybe he would at least respect Kenjirou’s choice of silence. It was an inappropriate question to ask on a first date anyway and the answer didn’t even matter. “Terushima, what do you look for in a person you date?” Kenjirou blurted before his mouth got the memo that he was saving that question for lying awake in bed that night by himself.

Yuuji laughed, a bubbling noise, probably made of all the saturated color he’d pulled out of the old ice cream place just by being there. “I didn’t take you to be so forward!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s fine!” Yuuji reached out again, almost grazing Kenjirou’s arm before retracting the gesture again. “Can I ask you a favor first? Say my name.”

Kenjirou squinted, not breaking eye contact with the ground in front of him. “What?”

Yuuji held his hands behind his head, tipping back to look at the first appearing stars above them. “Say it like I say yours. I just want to hear it.”

At first, Kenjirou had no idea what Yuuji was referring to. He wasn’t going to sing his name like Yuuji tended to do with his own. And the way Kenjirou talked was his own, firm and steady, not rising and falling in pitch like Yuuji’s. Was he expected to change his ways? He definitely didn’t want to be with someone like that. Then he realized. It was the familiarity of given names that Yuuji loved, the real reason behind the sing-song tone. “Okay... Yuuji.”

If Yuuji didn’t stop smiling soon, he was going to suck the saturation right out of the stars to use as fuel, Kenjirou thought, almost cracking a smile.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Yuuji grinned shyly over at Kenjirou. “To answer your question, I don’t really know. I thought I knew at one point what I was looking for and then I met someone who’s the complete flipside of that and I’m having a really abnormal but really good first date so far with him even though it has to be pretty quick and it was totally an impulse and so far all I’ve done is spill ice cream on myself and look like a weirdo.”

A laugh slipped past Kenjirou’s lips before he could keep it in. He clipped it short and cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about that. I already knew you were a weirdo.”

Yuuji laughed back and Kenjirou couldn’t help smiling, taking a quick glance at the stars for himself.

Running fingers through his blond hair, Yuuji skipped while he walked. “I feel like I’ve always dated people who were a lot more like me, you know? Risk-takers, chatterboxes, people who just want to fool around a bit and call it a night. And I never really doubted it because it was always so much fun. But you’re not like that at all, are you. Why do you ask?”

Kenjirou wasn’t a big fan of taking risks. He couldn’t pull off chatter if he tried, evidenced in the ice cream shop. And he was pretty sure he knew what kind of fooling around Yuuji was referring to and he was going to avoid that like the plague. He shook his head. “I was just thinking. I’m not sure if this helps, but you’re not at all the kind of person I pictured dating either.”

“And what were you picturing your type to be?” Yuuji kept his pace even with Kenjirou’s and tilted his head to listen intently.

“I’m kinda into the strong, silent type,” Kenjirou admitted. “Someone to be with but not someone who would need a lot of upkeep or conversation or attention, like we could exist on our own planes of existence, but just exist there together. And you’re not like that at all.”

The lights around Shiratorizawa Academy came back into view and Kenjirou pushed back the disappointment flaring up inside him before it made its presence known. He wasn’t done yet. He hadn’t figured out his quandary of landing a date with someone so unlike what he was interested in and actually enjoying it.

“Am I a little too key-lime for you?” Yuuji laughed.

Kenjirou looked up in surprise. He wasn’t the only one picturing this metaphor it seemed. “Maybe. But I’m more worried I might be a little too vanilla for you.”

Chuckling still, Yuuji led Kenjirou around the side of the gym where it was secluded. Yuuji waved toward his teammates, motioning that he’d just be another minute. The other members of Johzenji were trickling out of the gym to load onto the bus they’d taken over and the Shiratorizawa players were headed back to the dorm building. “Can I tell you what I think of this?”

Kenjirou nodded, a bit breathless. Technically, they had been alone on their walks to and from the ice cream shop, but standing behind the brick building in the shadows together felt so much more... key-lime. Then again, a first date to somewhere like an ice cream shop was probably vanilla to Yuuji.

Despite the darkness, Yuuji’s eyes still seemed to sparkle. It was probably all the stars and neon lights he’d absorbed. “I think it’s like what you said about volleyball. We can let things pass us by or we can put some effort into it and find some results. I don’t think we’re going to click automatically. How many times have I already tried to touch you this evening before realizing that’s not what you want. I think there’s a lot to learn about each other if we’re going to make this work. But I really want to learn it all and that’s not a feeling I’m used to. Do you agree with that?”

Nodding, Kenjirou looked up at Yuuji hopefully. “Yes. I feel the same. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Key-lime is a little out of my comfort zone.”

“Well, let me know if I get to be too key-lime. I won’t be offended.”

“And I won’t be offended if I’m too vanilla for you.”

“I don’t usually mesh with vanilla,” Yuuji agreed. “But we’ll give it a shot. I just don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation because of my key-lime. It’s not for everyone and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Well, key-lime isn’t all dangerous,” Kenjirou pointed out, offering a smile. “Key-lime is really tangy and unique, good when you’re trying to step out of your comfort zone a little. Hopefully vanilla isn’t too boring for you.”

“That’s not doing vanilla justice either.” Yuuji took a step away. “Vanilla isn’t boring. Vanilla is sweet and rich and classic. It’s great when you’re trying to slow down and enjoy the scenic route instead of always taking the fast lane everywhere. I gotta go, Kenjirou, but can I ask if there will be a second date to follow this sometime soon?”

“I would like that,” Kenjirou spoke over the pounding of his heart.

Yuuji smirked and walked backwards toward his bus. He waved. “Alright then. I’ll see you later, Vanilla.”


End file.
